The dunes
Flaunted in countless holiday brochures, wildlife documentaries and even car ads, the towering sand dunes of the Sossusvlei area constitute Namibia’s most iconic landscape, epitomizing the country’s vast, arid and seemingly uninhabited expanses of wilderness and stark beauty. Yet, despite this overexposure, the dunes rarely disappoint when you finally get to see them for yourself, though at dawn in high season the 65km access road from the Sesriem gate to the Sossusvlei car park can seem like a commuter highway, as a stream of vehicles race to catch the best sunrise shot or beat the crowds to the 325m summit of “Big Daddy”, the tallest dune in the area.
The best time to visit is early morning, as the rising sun causes the dunes to undergo several dramatic changes in colour, though you’ll need several hours to explore the area fully. Late afternoon, towards sunset, is also rewarding, and usually less crowded since only visitors staying inside the park can stay that late. After 10am, with the sun high in the sky, temperatures soar above 40 degrees in summer, and rarely dip much below 30 degrees in winter, although at that time of day you’re almost guaranteed to have the place to yourself.
Elim Dune
Given its proximity to the main gate, Elim Dune is a popular spot to head for at sunset. Notable for its photogenic tufts of the Namib’s endemic stipagrostis grass set against the rich ochre sand, the dune also offers dramatic views across the surrounding gravel plains to the Naukluft Mountains, though it is a deceptively long climb to the top. Possessing relatively abundant vegetation, the dune is interesting to visit at dawn on a calm morning, as you’ll see a multitude of criss-crossing tracks made by insects, reptiles and small animals that are supported by the grasses. Watch out for the aggressive Namib dune ant, which has a distinctive black-and-white-striped hairy abdomen and exceedingly long legs, to keep its body well elevated from the hot sand.
Sesriem Canyon
Sesriem Canyon is a narrow, shallow gorge consisting of sandstone and pebble conglomerate whose formation began some 10–20 million years ago when the Tsauchab River, which now only flows every few years after heavy rains, was a much more potent force, carving its way through the landscape. The layers containing larger rocks were formed during periods of strong water flow, whereas those formed of smaller pebbles and higher concentrations of sand were established when the current was less fierce. A continental uplift a mere 2–5 million years ago then set off a process of erosion that continues today. The name Sesriem derives from the ses (six) riems (leather thongs knotted together) that were needed to draw water up to the gorge rim. You can walk down into the canyon and along its sandy floor; it’s only just over a kilometre long, around 30m deep and only a few metres wide in places, flattening out as it heads towards Sossusvlei. In the rainy season, pools of water collect in the canyon’s deep hollows.
Dune 45
Probably the area’s most photographed dune, Dune 45 is, believe it or not, 45km from the entrance. Although only 85m in height, this star dune proffers a classic curvaceous spine, with a perfectly situated gnarled camelthorn tree at its base, though it’s getting progressively harder to capture a shot of it without vehicles parked in front, or a stream of people toiling up the sand for sunrise.
Hidden Vlei
Tucked away behind rust-coloured dunes, Hidden Vlei, a ghostly clay pan dotted with dead acacia trees, is less visited than Dead Vlei, but just as atmospheric. Look out for the oryx and springbok spoor across the pan.
Dead Vlei and “Big Daddy”
Eerily beautiful, Dead Vlei was once the end point of the Tsauchab River, until the climate changed and the watercourse became blocked by dunes, leaving the camelthorn trees – some of which are estimated to be nine hundred years old – to wither and die. Their sun-scorched skeletal trunks still remain, due to the aridity of the climate and absence of wood-boring insects; protruding from the parched, white clay-pan floor, they provide a stark contrast to the surrounding golden dunes and cerulean sky. “Big Daddy” lies to the south of the vlei, and you’ll be rewarded for the hour-long slog to the top by a spectacular panoramic view of the dune sea rippling away into the distance, topped off by a five-minute adrenaline rush as you race down the dune slip face into the pan.
Sossusvlei
The prized destination for most visitors is Sossusvlei itself, a large, elliptical-shaped, salt-rich pan surrounded by acacias, grasses and the odd shrub, and enclosed by giant dunes. Look carefully in some of the camelthorn trees, where you may spot the parasitic mistletoe entwined around their branches. Once every five to ten years after exceptionally heavy rains, you may be lucky enough to witness the vlei totally transformed by a flash flood from the ephemeral Tsauchab River. The resulting shallow lake remains for weeks, miraculously populated by water lilies and dragonflies, and attracting a flurry of aquatic birdlife.
Ballooning over the dunes
Of all the ways to comprehend the vastness of the desert and marvel at the play of light on the dunes, it’s hard to beat the truly magical experience of witnessing sunrise over the Namib from a hot-air balloon. True, it doesn’t come cheap, but if you only splurge on one activity during your trip, this should be it. Though you’ll only spend around an hour in the air, the whole event lasts several hours, starting with a pick-up around an hour before dawn, followed by a safety briefing, then the balloon envelope is inflated, you clamber aboard and lift off. To the west the dune sea ripples away towards the coast while the Naukluft Mountains stand guard to the east. As you float upwards, you can clearly make out the shapes of the various inselbergs below and track herds of springbok or solitary gemsbok as they trek across the desert. On landing, you can enjoy a sumptuous champagne breakfast before being driven back to your lodgings.
The Namib sand sea
Undoubtedly, for most people desert equals sand, and there are few more spectacular examples of sand desert (erg) than the Namib dunes, which stretch for most of Namibia’s Atlantic Coast, pushing south into South Africa, and north into Angola. The remarkableness of the 50,000-square-kilometre Namib Dune Sea within the Namib-Naukluft National Park – about the size of Belgium – has now been internationally recognized in its designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Though the Namib boasts some of the highest dunes in the world, at over 300m, it’s the ever-changing palette of colours that most impresses – from gold to pink, cream to brick-red, apricot to maroon. The coastal dunes are generally paler, consisting of newer sand, much of which originates from sediments washed down the Orange River to be swept northwards by ocean currents and tossed up onto the beaches. The colouration becomes deeper and redder towards the eastern limits of the sand sea, due to the amount of iron oxide present in the predominantly quartz sand and the ways in which the dunes have weathered over time. Even so, the dunes magically alter in hue with the changing light.
Dune morphology, on the other hand, depends principally on the strength and direction of the wind; most kinds of sand dunes are longer on the windward side, where the wind pushes the sand up the dune, with a shorter “slip face” in the lee of the wind, where the blown sand tips over. It’s here that occasional grasses take root, helping to stabilize the dune, and wind-blown detritus collects, providing food for some of the Namib’s extraordinary desert-adapted creatures. The following main dune formations are present in the Namib:
Barchan Dunes
Classic crescent-shaped dunes with two “horns” facing downwind. The most mobile of dunes, forming in strong unidirectional winds; some in the Namib can migrate over 50m per year. They are especially prominent around Lüderitz and Walvis Bay, and up the northern section of the Skeleton Coast. Less common, parabolic dunes are also crescent-shaped but with the horns trailing upwind and the slip face on the inside.
Linear (seif) dunes
Converging winds push the sand into long lines or ridges, running parallel to the prevailing wind; some linear dunes in the Namib are over 32km in length.
Star dunes
Many examples of these giant dunes are found round Sossusvlei. They are formed when several winds blow from different directions, resulting in three or more steep ridges radiating out from a central peak. Star dunes do not migrate, but continue to grow vertically, and in the Namib form in a south to north direction.
Transverse dunes
Long, asymmetrical dunes that form at right angles to the prevailing wind in conditions of abundant sand, such as on the road between Walvis Bay and the airport; with steep slip faces, they appear like giant ripples from the air.
NamibRand Nature Reserve
One of the largest private reserves in Africa, the NamibRand Nature Reserve shares a 100km border with the southeastern section of the Namib-Naukluft National Park, thereby creating an important buffer zone. The reserve contains similar scenery to the national park: gravel plains, inselbergs, spectacular dunes and impressive mountains, as well as comparable flora and fauna, attracting over 170 bird species. However, the small handful of exclusive tourist concessions means you won’t need to share this beautiful desert wilderness with hundreds of other tourists, as can be the case round Sossusvlei. The reserve is also the first designated dark sky reserve in Africa, so it’s the perfect spot to indulge in stargazing. The southeastern section of the reserve hosts the only luxury multi-day walking safari in Namibia, the Tok-Tokkie Trail, which provides a unique opportunity to get close to nature for an extended period without sacrificing too many comforts.